Mickey Blue

One day, when the time is right, I'm going to get a dog...or two...or three. I love dogs! But the time isn't "right" right now, and the idea of being a pet foster parent and having a dog at home without all of the major responsibilities and commitments sounds good to me. Right now, I have my own place (I'm renting), so I have the space...but it's the time I'm worried about. Do animal shelters allow single working people to foster dogs and cats? I usually am out of the house for 9-10 hours. I can see that being a problem for a dog, but maybe not for a cat?

So my fish's fishbowl has been filled with all of these bubbles on the surface around the rim. I did some research and found that the bubbles mean the fish is happy, healthy, and looking for a mate. They supposedly make the bubbles to attract the females...so does that mean that I should make my fish happy and give him a girlfriend? Or, being that he's a Chinese Fighting Fish, is he going to attack her? I've put him with a goldfish before, and he cornered it. If I didn't remove him, I'm sure he would've tried to eat the poor guy.

I live in an apartment, and I've been told that I would be allowed to get a hamster if I wanted to. What I'd really want to get would be a cat, but with all of the hours that I'm away from home (I'm usually gone 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM), and with the night classes I'm about to start taking twice a week for grad school (I wouldn't be getting home until 10 PM), the cat would be extremely lonely...and I can't afford two cats, so that's not an option.

A hamster, on the other hand, seems like a great option. I'm thinking of getting a dwarf hamster and keeping it in a 20 gallon tank fitted with a mesh lid for ventilation (I would never get a wire cage, I know how hamsters are escape artists)...however, I'm concerned that I'd get bored with a hamster. Does it make a good companion? Or does it just sit there? I've had dogs all of my life, and I'm used to a pet that you can play with...but can you even "play" with a hamster?

Every time I watch "Saving Private Ryan," or the HBO shows "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific," I keep on telling myself, "These men were real heroes. They were called to serve their country, and they risked their lives for our freedom." I am very thankful for their service, and for what they have done for our country. However, if I were ever called to serve my country, I would fail the physical. I could never leave the country, go into battle, and say, "wait, stop, I need to take my pills." For example, if you were diabetic, you couldn't say "time out guys, I need to take my insulin. Tell the enemy to stop firing."

I know that people keep stressing on TV how important community service is. I understand that, and I also respect that, but I want to be a part of something bigger. I want to be a part of a group that stands for something, like honor, tradition, and discipline. Are there any ways that I could join and serve, even if they wouldn't allow me to fight? I wouldn't mind working at a desk, or cooking, or anything else like that. I don't care if I had a demeaning job that others would pass, as long as I had the chance to say, "I was a member of ---, and I did my best for my country."

I read online once that many cats are illegal in Japan, and people there have to hide their feline pets. Is this true? Are cats altogether illegal? Or maybe several breeds? - because I know that there are some cats that are illegal in some states in the U.S.

I've read the first book in the series, and I've watched most of the first season of True Blood. It seems that each episode of the series matches with each chapter of the book (being that there are 12 chapters and 12 episodes). However, I haven't read of a Tara Thornton or a Jessica Hamby yet. Are they in the series at all, or have they been created for the show?

I just recently learned of the havana brown cat breed on Cats 101 on Animal Planet, and I love it, it's so beautiful. It's like a cat-like version of a chocolate lab. However, they said that there are only about 123 registered havana browns, so they're very hard to come by...which leads me to asking if there is another breed out there that is similar to the havana brown, being solid brown in color, and preferably short haired. The most similar one I can think of is the black American/Domestic Short hair, but it's black, and not brown. Could there be a brown domestic short hair - other than a brown tabby?

A lot of single women adopt kids cause they think that their time is up and they'll never find Mr. Right, but what about guys? Guys want to be parents too (and I'm talking about straight guys). Should guys have to suffer being childless because they can't find Mrs. Right, and a man adopting a kid might seem weird?

I totally don't believe in ghosts, nor have I ever seen one, but for some reason, a ton of people believe that they exist...and most of those people claim to have seen a ghost. So come on, have you ever seen a ghost? And I don't mean a flash of light that whizzed by, I'm talking about an actual apparition that stood there for like 5 seconds!

So let's say that I have a cat, because I work during the day, and I can't leave a dog alone, so a cat's my only option...and let's say that I hate sports (cause I really do, I just never got into sports). And some of my favorite movies happen to be chick flicks (come on, everybody loves Sixteen Candles and The Princess Bride, right? - Molly Ringwald is hot and Andre the giant is the man!). Also, cooking is a hobby of mine. Ever since I saw Emeril do it, I've been hooked. So what if a girl walks in and sees me at home with a cat on my couch, Moulin Rouge (with super-hot Nicole Kidman) on the tube, and me roasting a chicken in the oven? Will she date me? Or will she walk right out the door?

James Dean had one, Sean Connery had one, Nicolas Cage had one, and Jay Leno and Rush Limbaugh have a bunch. Still, the dog is man's best friend. So what does that mean? Is it unmanly to have a cat?

I have heard that Scandinavian languages (such as Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, and also Afrikaans - even though spoken in South Africa) are so alike that someone who speaks Dutch could understand someone who speaks Swedish. Is this true? Is it possible that you could go to Amsterdam, speak Swedish, and the people there could understand you and converse with you? I'm learning some Swedish right now because it seems to be the easiest language to learn. It's just like English. For example, "you are a man" is "du ar en man" or something like that. I mean, it sounds the same. So if I learn Swedish, and I go fly to Copenhagen or something, will they know what I'm saying?

Sometimes, this feeling comes over me and I start shaking for only a couple of seconds. It doesn't happen too much, maybe once or twice a day, and never around the same time. It's very random. It's not like only my hands shake. My whole body shakes. I've been this way ever since I could remember, but it used to be very very seldom, like once a month. I don't know why it's more frequent now. When I get the shakes, I don't feel cold or feel sick or anything, I just feel the need to shake my body, almost like a dog when they are wet, or like when you're really cold and you shiver. What could this be?

I plan on moving out in a couple of years when I finish college, and I'll be moving into an apartment. I originally wanted a cat, because most apartments will allow cats (and it wouldn't be responsible to have a dog when I'm gone all of the time and living by myself). However, there are pets that I want more than a cat. I would either want pet rats or perhaps mice, or hamsters, or even ferrets. Also, maybe even a rabbit if these options aren't available. These are just some ideas that are floating around in my head, but mostly, more than anything else, I want pet rats! I can get past the long tails and the beady eyes. They are very intelligent! I hear that they are dog-like in that they can learn many tricks and respond when you call their name. Does anyone out there who has a pet rat live in an apartment? Do you think that there are landlords who would allow these pets?

I used to think that you could put a goldfish in a 1 gallon fish bowl, but now this website liveaquaria.com is saying that they should be placed in a tank that's at least 30 gallons. They also say that guppies should be in at least a 20 gallon tank. This is very confusing. Guppies in a 20 gallon tank!? I was planning on getting either Bala Sharks or Catfish (and maybe some neon tetras or guppies), but according to the website, sharks and catfish need 70 gallons of water! Someone please help me. I've successfully housed platys in my 10 gallon tank (which the website reccommends), but I'm tired of them and I want to move on to something else...and I'm also tired of Bettas...so what are my options?

The kids aren't allowed to dance or play cards, they apparently go to church "at home," and they have 18 kids. What's their deal? I actually love their show on TV, and I think that there should be more shows like this one with Christian values...but why not be a normal family? Why can't the kids dance? What is this, Footloose? Anyways, I don't think that they even follow a specific religion. The oldest son Josh got married in a Baptist church, but when the Duggars visited the Bates in one episode, they sort of mentioned how they're not Baptist. One of the kids said (as they visited the Bates' Baptist church) that it was nice to see something different, to see people worship in a different way. I know that Josh doesn't have to be Baptist to get married in a Baptist church. You could be Jewish for all they care...so does anyone know what they are? And do you think that their behaviors are similar to that of a cult?

I remember being a kid and watching Winnie the Pooh. The beginning had some guy in a sweater sitting in a chair with a book. He'd open the book, and it would be a picture of Winnie the Pooh or something, and then the camera would zoom in on the picture (which then became the start of the cartoon). After the cartoon, the storyteller was filmed again as he closed the book and said something like "until next time friends." There were stuffed animals of each character around him, like piglet and eeyore. I watched this show in the 80s, but it's possible that it could have been from the 70s.

I tried using imdb.com, but it didn't work. It's not the old Disney show called "The Magical Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," cause that's from the 60s, and the narrator (Sebastian Cabot) is never seen, only heard. Please help me. If anyone remembers seeing the storyteller, that would be great! His name or even the name of the show would be awesome!

I've been a dog person all of my life. I almost always had a dog while growing up. However, due to certain members of my family being allergic, we've never had a cat. My family thinks that cats are disgusting creatures with filthy habits. Well, watching a dog lick itself and eat its own feces is pretty disgusting in itself, so having a cat can't be that bad.

However, I've heard that cats have a myriad of problems. They choke on hairballs, claw at everything, step all over their litter boxes and then walk all over countertops and tables, and become victim to many urinary infections. Is all of this true? Will having a cat be a burden? I'd like to know (from people who actually have cats) what the main concerns with cat ownership are, including what I could do to make my life (and my future cat's life) easier.